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To celebrate the offical opening of the new accessibility ramp adjoining the Hawea River Swing Bridge, the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust invite one and all to come and ride (stroll, push or walk) the ramp on Sunday 27th January.

Groups will depart the following locations at the times listed below. If you are wanting to walk or run, we suggest leaving a little earlier.

An official opening of the new ramp will happen at 10AM with Queenstown Lakes District Council Deputy Mayor Calum MacLeod officiating with ribbon cutting duties.

Easy vehicle access for those travelling by car is via the Albert Town Hawea River Campground access road off SH6.

We encourage everyone to continue on to Albert Town for coffee afterwards (because a ride/run/walk/stroll is always better with coffee and Albert Town is home to some of the finest caffeinated drops in the district, all conveniently situated beside our local tracks).

About the Ramp

Construction

Construction was completed in early December for the 2018/19 summer holiday season that sees many locals and visitors alike make the most of the long days and holiday period to get out and enjoy the local trail networks connecting the Upper Clutha. Six weeks on, the Hawea Swing Bridge Ramp has proven to be a resounding success for locals and visitors alike as well as the marking a successful first major build milestone by the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust as part of their Accessibility project.

The ramp was built by local builder Roy Bailey with the construction of the ramp made possible by the joint fundraising efforts of local physiotherapist Kate Turner and Bikevember as well as the generous support of local/regional trusts, funding organisations and individuals.

Ramp Funders

Southern Trust

QLDC Local Community Support Fund

Lion Foundation

Skycity Casino (Qtown) Community Trust

Callis Charitable Trust

Meg Taylor

Max Shepherd

Bikevember

Kate Turner

Accessibility Project

One of the key initiatives of the UCTT is to improve “accessibility” for all.

Starting with the removal of chicanes and styles from popular local tracks, the Hawea River Swing Bridge Accessibility Ramp represents the first major accessibility construction project with the aim of ongoing improvement of access to the track network for wheel chairs, strollers, electric bikes and recumbent bikes in the Upper Clutha area.

Images & Media

Images and additional information are available upon request by emailing: info@uctt.org.nz

Upper Clutha Tracks Trust

The Upper Clutha Tracks Trust is a non profit organisation dedicated to developing a high quality network of public trails around Wanaka and the Upper Clutha Basin.

The Trust is made up of eleven passionate members of the Wanaka community, plus representatives from the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Department of Conservation.

If you or someone you know would like to contribute to future projects and developments of the track network in the Upper Clutha, you can do so by emailing: Info@uctt.org.nz

The Upper Clutha Tracks Trust is seeking public feedback on the concept of a cycle/footbridge over the Clutha River just downstream from the Outlet.

This would provide a key new link in the Upper Clutha track network, giving easy access to Dublin Bay and the Deans Bank Tracks. It could also provide a great option for the Great Ride Track (National Cycleways) linking Wanaka to Cromwell.

The bridge would need to be between 100 and 140 metres depending on its exact location, and would look something like this 148m bridge on the Heaphy track.

The 148m Swing bridge on the Heaphy Track

Some possible bridge locations are between the Outlet and scenic photo point 8.

Some possible location for the foot/cyclebridge.

The bridge would provide easy access from Wanaka Township to Dublin Bay, and the tracks on the true left of the Clutha River. It would reduce the distance from the log cabin to Dublin Bay from 19km to 11.5km, cutting approx 7.5km from the journey.

It would also open a quicker route to the Deans Banks mountain bike track network and create a great 7.5km loop track to Albert Town on both sides of the Clutha River.

The Great Ride Connection

Planning is underway to link the Great Rides (National Cycleways) in Central Otago. As part of this project there will be a new Great Ride from Wanaka to Cromwell. It is anticipated that this will use the existing Upper Clutha River Track to Albert Town.

The connection from Albert Town to Wanaka Township is yet to be considered. The key issues for Great Ride is that they be as scenic and “great” as possible, whilst keeping to a well defined track standard.

One possible route would be from Albert Town to Wanaka on the true left of the Clutha River, and the track would cross back to the Wanaka side near the outlet.

The Trust would welcome public comments and suggestions regarding this proposal.

Newcastle Track Opened on 8th December 2012

The new track is 14km long and runs on the true left of the Clutha River from the Hawea River Swing Bridge at Albert Town to near the Red Bridge at Luggate. , It creates a great loop track in conjunction with the Upper Clutha River Track.

The main funder of the track is the Otago Community Trust, with additional funding from the following:

Walking Access Commission – Enhanced Access Fund

The Lion Foundation

Skycity Casino Queenstown Community Trust

The Trust has had considerable support from the Department of Conservation Wanaka Office who have constructed some of the track and managed the project on behalf of the Trust.

The Trust would also like to thank Devon Diaries Ltd the adjoining landowner for their assistance with the project, and Bike Wanaka who will be assuming the day to day responsibility for maintaining the track.

The Trust welcomes anyone who would like to donate their skills and services or even make a financial contribution to future tracks.

Come and enjoy one of Wanaka’s stunning tracks: the Hawea River Track, the Upper Clutha Track, the Damper Bay/ Waterfall Creek Track and the Outlet Track

Spectacular scenery, exciting trails that wind their way alongside the region’s most stunning waterways and races that appeal to all abilities – the Riverrun Trail Series.

The Riverrun Trail Series allows competitors to explore four of the region’s recently developed tracks. The tracks are all lakeside or riverside and all are challenging in their own respects and will provide a memorable experience for athletes, from first timers to experienced runners.

The Riverrun Trail Series begins 1st October 2011 and concludes on 19th May 2012 with four races making up the series. There are prizes for place getters and plenty of spot prizes to ensure everyone’s in with a chance of winning.

Enter one or enter the whole Series – the overall winner of the Series will earn the John Pawson Trophy, named after inspirational local John Pawson who was a dedicated advocate for the environment and the development of the trails.

The Trust would like to invite everyone to join us to celebrate the opening of the Luggate Creek Track on Sunday 30th May at 10 am at Harris Place in Luggate. Harris Place in is the new subdivision in Luggate and is accessed from Pisa Road. See track map for details.

The Luggate Creek Track is the first part of our current projects to be opened and connects the Luggate Township into the track network. The track also provides access to Luggate Creek and limited access to the Devil’s Nook. We hope to be able to improve access to the Devils Nook later in the year as a further phase of this project.

The Devil's Nook - Luggate Creek Track

It is now possible to to walk or cycle between Luggate, Wanaka, Albert Town and Lake Hawea completely off road.

In the near future, we hope to include the small community at John’s Creek into the network, and we are also looking at options to fully connect to Hawea Flat. In the longer term, our goal is to creaet a track all the way down to Cromwell and Clyde to connect with the Otago Central Rail Trail and the Roxburgh Gorge Track.

The Trust is a registered Charity and funds its activities from grants and donations and support from the public and local businesses.

The Trust welcomes support either by cash donations or the donations of skills and services and details of what even small donations can achieve can be found on our Help the Trust build Tracks page.

The Trust is grateful for the support of the following groups for their financial support of the project.

The Trust is pleased to announce that after more than a year of fund raising we have finally achieved the full budget total of $291,617 for our latest track project.

Our new project is the extension of the track network at both Lake Hawea and at Luggate.

Lake Hawea to Johns Creek.

This new section of track will run connect with the existing track through the the lakeside reserve and then run mostly along the cliff tops to the small settlement at Johns Creek. This will be of a similar standard to the Upper Clutha River Track, and will also form part of the Te Araroa long distance pathway.

View from the Gladstone Track

Planning for this section has been taking place for some time and we are currently waiting for a resource consent for a small section of track. We hope to start construction of some of this track in the next couple of months.

Red Bridge to the Devils’s Nook and Luggate Township.

This will extend the existing Upper Clutha River Track, downstream along the Clutha River to Luggate Creek where a new footbridge will cross the creek. Once over the creek a track will give access to the Devils Nook, a beautiful feature of the Clutha River and provide easier fishing access downstream.

The Devils Nook from the Luggate Creek Track

A track will also follow Luggate Creek up the township and the Luggate Pub for those who feel they deserve a drink after completing the track.

Work has already started on constructing the track and bridge and we hope to be able to open this section in June.

Luggate Creek Bridge

Funding

The Trust is grateful for the support of the following groups for their financial support of the project.

The Riverrun Trail Series is an off-road running series designed to showcase the spectacular lakeside and river tracks in Lake Wanaka.

The first event is on the 17 October, on the Hawea River Track and offers a 5km, 10 km and half marathon option.

The Riverrun Trail Series will allow competitors to explore three of the region’s recently developed tracks – the Hawea River Track, the Upper Clutha River Track and the Glendhu Bay Track. The tracks are all lakeside or riverside and all are challenging in their own respects and will provide a memorable experience for athletes, from first timers to experienced runners.

The Riverrun Trail Series begins October 2010 and concludes in May 2011 with three races making up the series. There are prizes for place getters and plenty of spot prizes to ensure everyone’s in with a chance of winning.

Enter one or enter the whole Series – the overall winner of the Series will earn the John Pawson Trophy, named after local John Pawson who was the first chair of the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust and a driving force behind the creation of the tracks.